Tesco is rounding up your bills and adding extra pennies – but it’s for a good reason
Staff are supposed to ask customers if they mind rounding their bill up to the nearest 10p
TESCO has been accused of rounding up bills WITHOUT asking customers.
The UK's biggest supermarket is raising money for charities by asking customers if they mind adding up their bill to the nearest 10p.
Staff are supposed to explain the initiative is voluntary and ask customers if they mind taking part.
But some have complained that the pennies have been added to their bill without them being informed.
One customer said on Twitter: "Very underhanded of @Tesco to be 'rounding up' for charity without asking. I'd have said yes, just ask first".
Another said: "Really annoyed with @Tesco rounding my money up to give money to charity that I don't support without asking me".
A third added: "@Tesco re: charity round up. Not asked at till if I wanted to do it. Please remind your staff to ask, otherwise it's theft."
But it seems some don't even want to be asked about it.
One unhappy customer said: "I'm happy to give to charity but Tesco? Please stop asking me to round up the bill...everyday for a month...might stop me popping in."
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Tesco is raising money for Diabetes UK and the British Heart Foundation until early October.
It means that if your shop comes to £10.55, you can round it up to £10.60 and the extra 5p goes to charity.
Anyone using a self-service checkout should see a short message explaining the scheme before they are asked to donate.
But those who visit normal tills must be asked by staff if they mind taking part.
The supermarket ran a trial for the scheme earlier this year in 15 stores.
A spokesperson from Tesco Said: "This is entirely voluntary and colleagues will not round up without asking. If this happens in error we will offer a full refund.
"By offering our customers the opportunity to contribute alongside The Great Tesco Walk from Land’s End to John O’Groats we hope to raise funds and awareness for our charity partners."
Last week the supermarket faced controversy after a government data leak revealed it had been making deductions for administration costs for its plastic bag tax.
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The documents showed Tesco deducted £3.4 million off carrier bag donations last year, while no other supermarket took money for admin charges.
The supermarket claims that it needs to cover the costs of running the scheme and that its Bag for Live imitative has given £33 million to thousands of groups across the country.
It also faced flack for pulling 5p carrier bags from sale earlier this year, meaning customers have to pay for a 10p Bag for Life instead.
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